


“Do you trust me?”

by EthanTheAnnus



Series: FrostIron Bingo 2019 [2]
Category: Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: A lot of mention of lakes, A lot of times the water is described as “surging”, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Each-uisge, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Heavy Angst, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kelpie!Loki, Kelpies, Loki is 28, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Odin is a big old bitch, Odin’s A+ Parenting, Or at least he tries to be, Past Character Death, Shapeshifting, Slow Burn, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony is 25, and Odin and Thor, except for Loki bc he’s a kelpie, he just refuses to talk ngl, kind of, mute!Loki, mythological creatures, no powers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 03:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20575610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EthanTheAnnus/pseuds/EthanTheAnnus
Summary: “Who are you?” Tony called. The man made no move to respond, and after a moment, it clicked in Tony’s head.“You’re a kelpie, aren’t you?”-OR-Loki is a kelpie. After a chance meeting, Tony makes it his goal to befriend the creature he found so entrancing. But things get a little difficult when your new friend refuses to talk, and his past contains more than a few traumas.





	“Do you trust me?”

**Author's Note:**

> Bingo Card prompt fill for square N2: “Do you trust me?”

Tony wasn’t sure how he’d ended up here, by the side of this lake all alone. Whatever the case, he liked the calm, the quiet lapping of the water on the lakeshore. After a bit, Tony’s eyes drifted up from the lakeshore, and he nearly fell backwards in shock as he spotted a man, standing in the water.

This man was absolutely gorgeous, unlike any he’d ever seen; his eyes were an oceanic green, and he had long, silky black hair, with a few watery weeds tangled in amongst it. His gaze seemed to be trained on Tony, and he barely seemed to be breathing.

“Who are you?” Tony called. The man made no move to respond, and after a moment, it clicked in Tony’s head.

“You’re a kelpie, aren’t you?”

Again, the man didn’t move, but Tony could have sworn his eyes widened a little, and that the water grew a little choppier. Tony just grinned, taking this as the confirmation he needed.

“I’m not in the mood to get eaten today,” Tony began slowly. “But I can stay and chat for a while, if you want.”

This time, the man did move; the slightest incline of his head. When Tony met his gaze again, he could see the hint of loneliness there.

“Tony Stark, a pleasure to meet you,” Tony offered, but he got no response. “Can’t talk? Cat got your tongue?”

The man just stared, unblinking, and Tony chuckled to himself. Of course the most attractive man he’d ever met was a kelpie, and one who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, talk to him.

“Not even a name?” There was still no response, and Tony sighed. “Guess I’ll have to do all the talking then, huh?”

Tony may have imagined it, but he could have sworn the kelpie gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. He could have laughed, if it weren’t for the hope that seemed to be glistening in the man’s expression.

“Alright then. You already know my name… well, I’m 25, and probably the Einstein of our time, though no one seems to recognise my genius at the moment. My friends think I’m an idiot, though- it was the  _ one time  _ that I tried to put ice cream in the oven.”

Tony could have sworn he heard the faintest laugh from the kelpie. He smiled at this, encouraged to continue.

“I built bots for myself, for crying out loud. But whatever… I met most of my friends through my education, you know. I went to MIT, and Rhodey, Natasha and Clint were a few of the first people I met there. Thinking about it, it’s a wonder Clint got in… he’s dumber than a rock most of the time.”

Tony was about to continue when his phone began to ring; he grimaced, then shot the kelpie an apologetic look. “I gotta take this.”

Pulling out his phone, Tony saw the caller was Pepper; she was his ex, but they were both cool. Still close friends after it all, despite the rocky breakup.

“Yes?”

_ “You said you’d meet up with us for bowling!” _

Tony sucked in a breath between his teeth. He’d forgotten he, Natasha, Rhodey and Pepper had planned to go bowling (Clint was busy with “homework”, which was code for spending time with his girlfriend).

“I’ll be there soon.” Tony hung up the phone, and turned guiltily to the kelpie. “I’ve gotta go. My friends… I’ll come back, okay?”

The man in the water looked saddened, but not surprised. Tony offered him a small smile.

“I  _ will  _ come back. Swear on my life.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“Kelpies aren’t real, Tones.” Rhodey’s voice was dismissive, and Tony felt frustration fill him.

“I’m serious! He was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen…”

“And now you’re going to tell us it was the lake in Central Park,” Natasha put in with some scorn in her tone.

“It was!” Tony snatched up his bowling ball as Pepper walked back over to them.

“I think we’d all believe you if you didn’t lie about things regularly,” she said. “Like a week ago when you lied about personally knowing Johnny Depp.”

“That was  _ not  _ a lie!” Tony hissed, walking up to take his turn.

“Sure it wasn’t,” Natasha said with a roll of her eyes. Seething, Tony took his shot; his anger only grew when he only managed to knock down two pins.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“Kelpie of Central Park lake?” Tony’s voice echoed out of the water. “I told you I’d be back.”

For a moment, the lake just lay still. Then the water surged, and the kelpie appeared out of the fray of waves. He looked the same as the last time Tony had seen him, except this time he was closer to the shoreline, and there was genuine happiness, and hope, shining on his face.

“How have you been holding up for the past couple of days?” Tony asked. “Wait, no, I know what your answer to that is- no response.”

Tony chuckled at himself, and this time he clearly heard the kelpie laugh with him.

“My friends didn’t believe you exist,” Tony said, sitting down by the shoreline. “I’d be pretty sceptical too, to be honest, about someone who’s simply referred to as ‘the Central Park lake kelpie.’”

Tony leaned back a little, seeing the kelpie didn’t respond in any way. “So? Am I going to get a name?”

No response from the man, not that Tony expected one.

“Do you  _ have  _ a name?”

A slight, small nod from the kelpie.

“Can you tell me it?”

No response. A small smile flickered onto Tony’s face.

“I didn’t expect you would. So, from here on out, I’ll call you… Bob.”

The kelpie let out a laugh at this, quiet but genuine, shaking his head slightly.

“No? How about Ralph?”

The man shook his head again, still smiling, and Tony found himself smiling back.

“Guess I’ll just have to call you Mr Kelpie then.”

The kelpie smiled at this, and offered a new response; he raised a hand, giving Tony a thumbs up. Tony’s smile broadened at this, and he pulled out his phone.

“I did some research on you, Mr Kelpie. No one who’s ever encountered you has heard you speak, compared to other kelpies who are known to lure in victims with sweet words, or by singing.” Tony paused for a moment, scrolling on his phone. “Some people have even reported you having a horse form, and a few accounts speak of the form of a raven.”

The kelpie let out an audible snort at this, rolling his eyes. Tony took this to mean no, the accounts were wrong.

“Well you’ve got to show me your forms now,” Tony said, leaning back a little and nearly falling flat onto his back. The man in the water rolled his eyes for a second time.

Then the water surged, like it had earlier, except this time it came up to cover the kelpie. When it died down again, the man was gone; standing his place was a pure, black horse.

Tony let out a whoop at this. “That’s so awesome!”

The water surged for a second time, covering the kelpie again. This time when it died down, there was a large, black water serpent in its place. It looked big enough to swallow Tony whole.

“That’s even  _ more  _ awesome, Mr Kelpie.”

The water surged for a third time, and when it died down, the man was back. He gave Tony a sheepish smile, and Tony responded with a large grin and two thumbs up.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“He doesn’t turn into a raven. It’s a serpent.”

“He’s not  _ real _ , Tony.” Pepper sounded exasperated.

“Yes, he is, and I’ll prove it.”

“How, exactly?” Natasha chipped in. “We already know you’re a whiz with photoshop.”

“I’ll go see him again tonight. Tomorrow, all of you come with me.”

“You all know he’s going to rig something tonight, right?” Clint asked through a mouthful of chips; he always seemed to be eating some sort of snack food or another.

“Yes, Clint, we know,” Rhodey replied, rolling his eyes. Tony scowled.

“I just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be scared of you,” he mumbled. “But if you all have to come tonight, so be it.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“Mr Kelpie?” Tony’s voice was low and quiet, but it still echoed across the lake. “My friends want to meet you.”

The water stayed still, and Tony spotted Natasha rolling her eyes. He held a finger to his lips in warning.

“They’re nice, I promise.” Tony forced himself to not let himself whine. “Come say hello?”

The water rippled. Tony spotted it and smiled.

“They’re the friends I told you about- you remember? The people I met at MIT?”

The water rippled again, then surged. Tony heard Pepper gasp as the kelpie Tony had come to recognise over the past week emerged from the waves.

“My friends, this is Mr Kelpie. Mr Kelpie, these are my friends; that’s Pepper, and Natasha, and that’s Rhodey, and the one with the bag of chips is Clint.”

“I was  _ hungry! _ ” Clint protested, and the kelpie let out a soft laugh.

“He can understand us?” Rhodey’s voice was low with awe, and Tony just grinned at him.

“Course he can. Pretty sure he can talk, too. He just doesn’t.” Then Tony turned to the kelpie. “Isn’t that right, Mr Kelpie? You’re just stubborn.”

“As stubborn as  _ you _ ,” Pepper said to Tony with a smile, bumping his arm in a friendly manner.

“Not nearly as stubborn as  _ you _ ,” Tony responded, pushing her playfully in return. Tony didn’t miss the small frown that came over the kelpie’s face, however, or the way his eyebrows furrowed a little. Neither did Pepper, apparently, for she cleared her throat suddenly.

“We should get going. It’s late, and I have class in the morning, unlike  _ some  _ people who graduated early.”

Tony stuck his tongue out at her. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Clint waved at Tony as he followed the other three away from the lake; once they were out of sight, Tony turned his gaze back to the kelpie.

“Mr Kelpie? Are you sad?”

The kelpie stayed still for a moment; then he nodded, a slight incline of his head, as usual. 

“Because of my friends?”

The man shook his head quickly at this, and Tony smiled weakly.

“Okay then. I was worried Clint said something.”

The kelpie let out a weak laugh at this. Tony offered a smile that he hoped was comforting.

“You want to tell me what’s up, Mr Kelpie?”

The man in the water just gestured to his lips, then shook his head. Tony frowned.

“You can’t speak?”

Another shake of his head.

“So you  _ can  _ speak?”

The kelpie nodded.

“But… you don’t want to?”

Another nod.

Tony let out a sigh. “Okay, Mr Kelpie. Well, the day you decide to speak to me, I’ll help you. For now… I’ll regale you with stories of my genius.”

Tony knew he didn’t imagine the huff the kelpie made at this, and he let himself smile again.

“When I was a young boy…”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“He seems scared of something.”

“Your kelpie friend?” Rhodey laid down his soldering iron and lifted his safety glasses. 

“Who else?” Tony asked with an eye roll, picking up the discarded soldering iron and soldered another wire into the circuit.

“And what would a  _ kelpie  _ be scared of?” Rhodey asked, pushing his safety glasses back on and holding out his hand for the soldering iron.

“A bigger kelpie? Abandonment? Magic?” Tony guessed, passing it over.

“Abandonment seems likely,” Rhodey responded. “Have you seen the way he looks at you Tony? He already seems very attached.”

“I’ve only known him a week, Rhodey. For all I know he could still want to lure me in and kill me.”

“I don’t think he will. He seems to really like you.” Rhodey paused, and looked up at Tony. “For  _ some  _ reason.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

  
  


“Mr Kelpie? Are you attached to me? Rhodey thinks you are.”

The man in the water stared, unmoving. Tony sighed; a week had passed since his friends had met the kelpie, and Tony had kept up his nightly visits to the lake. 

“Rhodey thinks you fear abandonment. And that you’ve grown attached to me, and you need a friend. So here I am! I’m your friend, Mr Kelpie!”

The kelpie smiled slightly at this; then, to Tony’s surprise, he took a few steps through the water, drawing closer to the shoreline than he ever had before. Tony could see his features in more detail, now.

His eyes were the most beautiful shade of green Tony had ever seen in his life; his black hair shined in the low moonlight, and his skin was far paler than Tony had first thought.

“Wow,” Tony breathed. “I’ve never seen you up this close before.”

The kelpie smiled wider at this; then he raised a hand in farewell before diving under the water, signalling the end of their visit for that night.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“He came closer to me last night.”

“You think he’s starting to trust you?” Pepper took a bite of her sandwich, and Tony nodded.

“I’m hoping he’ll actually speak to me soon.”

“You’re sure he can speak?”

“I asked if he could and he nodded,” Tony explained. “And I’ve known him for half a month now. I think I’m winning his trust.”

“Half a month isn’t that long,” Pepper pointed out. “Especially since he’s a kelpie; who knows how long he’s been there.”

“Just over 28 years, Pep,” Tony replied. “That’s when the sightings started.”

Pepper’s eyebrows raised. “28 years is a  _ long  _ time to go without a friend.”

“Well, now he’s got one.”

“What, you?” Pepper snorted, nearly spitting out a bite of her sandwich. “Shame he hasn’t really met anyone else; I’m pretty sure he’d soon see how bad of a decision it is to be friends with you.”

“ _ You’re  _ friends with me,” Tony pointed out, and to this Pepper just waved him off.

“I’m damage control.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

That night, Tony dove deeper into his research about the Central Park lake kelpie. He hoped for something more, some further information, but he seemed to draw a blank on every website he read.

Then, just as he was about to give up, Tony found a website that gave him more information than before. No name, but links to Norse Mythology.

Someone had seen this kelpie in his serpent form. From there, they had made connections to Norse Myth; apparently this person had gotten to  _ know  _ Tony’s kelpie, had actually heard him speak.

It saddened him to think that someone had heard the kelpie speak and he hadn’t. What saddened him more, however, was that whoever this was had either abandoned the Central Park lake kelpie after some considerable length of time, cutting off their friendship, or they had died.

He didn’t want to dwell on that for too long, though, but it did explain how cautious the kelpie had seemed to be acting towards him. The links to Norse Myth that the article talked about were vague at best, however, and Tony got the sneaking suspicion whoever wrote this was hiding something.

The more Tony read, the more it reinforced this belief. It alluded to a fair number of gods whose traits lined up with the kelpie’s own, but Tony knew better than to believe someone who seemed to be this close to his kelpie wouldn’t have worked out the exact links to Norse Myth.

Then it clicked.

Whoever had written this was hiding something for sure, but not just anything. The person who wrote this was hiding the kelpie’s  _ name _ .

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“I’m not an expert on mythology, Tony.”

“Never said you were, Nat,” Tony responded, poring over the site for the third time that week.

“Then why did you call me instead of some history buff like Bruce?”

Tony winced. “Pretty sure Bruce hates me ever since I threw an egg at his head and called him chicken.”

Natasha seemed to pause and consider this for a moment. “Alright, fair point. But still, why me?”

Tony tapped the side of his head with the palm of his hand. “You’re smart. Good at tracking down small clues and details.”

“And you want me to stare at this website until I go blind?”

“Correction, I want you to  _ read _ through this blog post until you find small details.” Tony paused. “Or you go blind.”

Natasha snorted, then pulled out her phone. “Send me the link, dumbass.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“I found a blog post on you, Mr Kelpie,” Tony said suddenly, shaking his finger at the man in the water as if he’d found him guilty of some harmless schoolchild prank. “Seems like you had a friend before me.”

The kelpie’s eyes widened, and his whole face morphed to betray fear before he seemed to get it back under control, to make his face emotionless. Tony offered the kelpie a small smile.

“Don’t worry. I just skimmed the article. Kinda crushed you didn’t tell me I wasn’t your first friend, though, Mr Kelpie.”

The kelpie smiled a little at this, though it was a sad smile, and Tony could almost feel the undertones of pain flickering beneath the facade.

“Don’t worry, Mr Kelpie.” Tony stretched a hand towards the man in the water, as if he were offering for him to take it. “I’ve lost people too.”

To Tony’s surprise, the kelpie took a tentative step forward, then reached for Tony’s hand. When they touched, he was surprised to find the being’s hand felt warm. Solid. Real.

After a moment, the kelpie let go. He offered Tony another sad smile, then dove back under the lake’s surface, and was gone.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“He held your  _ hand _ ?” Clint stuffed another five chips in his mouth, eyes glued to Tony, rapt with attention.

“Yeah,” Tony replied, beaming. “It was only for a few seconds but… it felt real. Like a human hand, you know?”

“You think he’s gonna talk to you, dude?”

Tony shook his head slightly. “I don’t know. I’m hoping Natasha’s found some clues on that site.”

“I’m sure she has. She’s crazy smart.”

“You only think that because you lucked into MIT and barely scraped a passing grade,” Tony responded good-naturedly.

“Hey! In my defence, I didn’t think engineering would be that hard.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

As it turned out, Natasha  _ had  _ found some clues on the site. Plenty of them, in fact, enough that she turned to Tony with confidence when he arrived to ask her how it was going.

“Loki.”

“Loki?” Tony peered closer at the information on the Norse god Natasha held out to him. “The god of mischief?”

“The parallels are uncanny. My guess is that’s his name.”

Tony leaned back, letting out a low whistle. “Loki, huh? That’s a much better name than Mr Kelpie.”

Natasha gave him a look. “Tony,  _ anything  _ is better than Mr Kelpie.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“You wanna tell me your name, Mr Kelpie? Or am I gonna have to figure it out myself?”

The man in the water just stared, unblinking. Tony sighed.

“I’ve got Nat looking into it. She’ll find it out sooner or later.”

The kelpie just blinked at him, unwavering. Tony slowly shook his head.

“You’re being difficult, Mr Kelpie. I’m just trying to be your friend. And you know what friends do? They get to know each other. Usually starting with a name.”

No response from the kelpie.

“Be like that then, Mr Kelpie,” Tony hissed in a moment of frustration. “Don’t tell me your name. Don’t ever speak to me.”

Then Tony turned and stomped away from the lake.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Tony was back at the lake the next night. He felt bad for his outburst of anger; he knew the kelpie probably just wanted a friend, and he probably had some sort of past trauma that was causing him to keep silent. 

Tony slowly sat down by the lakeshore, letting out a soft, almost silent sigh. He clutched the flowers he held in his hand a little tighter, taking a breath in.

“Mr Kelpie? I came… to apologise. For last night. I… I didn’t mean what I said.”

The lake laid still. Tony felt himself start to tear up; he’d screwed it up, he’d screwed it  _ all  _ up. The kelpie wouldn’t want to talk to him again now.

“I… I get it if… you don’t… want to be my friend anymore…”

The water rippled. Tony’s gaze lifted a little, and the water surged. When it died back down, the kelpie was standing there, gaze trained on Tony.

Tony smiled, through the tears that had started to fall from his eyes. He held out the flowers towards the kelpie.

“These… are a peace offering, I guess. Apology flowers.”

The kelpie seemed to regard them for a moment. Then he opened his mouth.

“You came back.”

Tony could have gasped. The voice of the kelpie was more beautiful and angelic than he could have ever imagined, and he wanted nothing more than to hear it again.

“So you  _ can  _ speak!” Tony exclaimed, pointing at the man, who nodded.

“I just wanted to make sure you were going to stay. That you weren’t going to leave me,” the kelpie explained.

“Well now you  _ gotta  _ tell me your name,” Tony said teasingly, to which the kelpie rolled his eyes. He then stepped closer, right up to the shoreline, and leaned over; the closest to Tony he’d ever been, their faces mere inches apart.

“Call me Mr Kelpie one more time,” the kelpie said, quietly. Tony swallowed.

“Alright then, Mr Kelpie,” he responded, as chirpily as he could.

“The name’s Loki,” the kelpie responded in a low voice, then he winked at Tony, turned, and dove back under the lake’s surface.

_ So Nat  _ was  _ right. _

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“He spoke to me, Pep.”

“He did, did he?” Pepper said, raising an eyebrow as she glanced over the counter at Tony.

“I got his name and all.” Tony watched as Pepper set to work making the next coffee order. “I really think he’s starting to trust me.”

“It has been nearly a month,” Pepper pointed out.

Tony grinned. “Yeah, it has.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“Lokes?”

The water surged, as usual, and the kelpie appeared. This evening he was smiling, and instantly waded through the water over to the lakeshore.

“Stark, you decided to show your face.”

“Are you  _ ever  _ going to call me Tony?”

Loki seemed to think on this for a moment. “No, I don’t think I will.”

Tony snorted. “Of course not. I don’t know why I expected any other answer.”

Loki chuckled. “You know, Stark, you’re the only excitement I’ve had in my life for a good while now.”

At Tony’s raised eyebrows, Loki hastily added, “Not  _ that  _ kind of excitement. I mean… well, living in the same lake for 28 years can get a little boring sometimes.”

“You can’t leave?”

“I could,” Loki said slowly. “But that would mean become a mortal. I wouldn’t be able to return here.”

“Have you ever… considered it? Becoming mortal?”

Loki’s gaze dropped. “Once. When I fell in love. But that was… years ago.”

“Do you want to tell me about them?” Tony asked gently, and Loki’s gaze lifted a little.

“I trust you, Stark,” Loki said slowly. “But I don’t think this is something I’m ready to share yet.”

Tony nodded, a little disappointed but completely understanding. “That’s perfectly okay. You can share it with me when you’re ready.”

Loki looked grateful for how understanding Tony was. “Thank you. For being my friend.”

Tony smiled, and for the first time he felt his heart ache with  _ want _ , for something  _ more  _ than friendship with this beautiful kelpie before him. He didn’t dare voice those desires, though.

“It’s my pleasure, Lokes.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“So you’ve fallen for a kelpie; a creature known for drowning people.”

“Don’t make it sound so bad,” Tony said. “And  _ you  _ were the one who said you didn’t think he’d kill me.”

“And I still don’t think he will,” Rhodey replied. “But other people are fair game.”

Tony just stared at Rhodey. “I don’t believe he’d kill.”

“You’ve known him for a month and a half, Tones. You can’t possibly know him, not that well.”

“Thanks for the faith,” Tony responded sarcastically.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“You wouldn’t kill anyone, would you?”

Loki stared at Tony for a moment. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean  _ maybe _ ?” Tony yelped, scrambling back from the lakeshore a little. Loki chuckled.

“No need to be afraid, Stark,” he said slowly. “I merely meant that if someone tried to hurt  _ you _ , I may have good reason to drown them and tear them apart.”

Tony relaxed a little, staring at Loki with newfound eyes. The kelpie seemed overly willing to protect Tony… Rhodey had been right; Loki  _ was  _ attached (and Tony was attached to him, but he wouldn’t let Rhodey know that).

“Joining the Tony Stark protection squad, are we?” Tony asked, chuckling slightly. “Pepper’s the president of that.”

Tony didn’t fail to notice that Loki stiffened a little at the mention of her name. Was Loki…  _ jealous _ of her?

“Did I ever tell you one of the girls at school is hopelessly in love with her?” Tony continued, in an attempt to calm Loki. “And she’s head over heels for her, too. They’re both just too stupid to admit it.”

Loki visibly relaxed at this, letting out a soft laugh. “That sounds like something a certain friend of mine would do.”

Tony held up a hand to heart in mock hurt. “I am  _ wounded _ .”

“Am I wrong, Stark?”

“.... No.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Natasha nearly spat out her coffee when Tony told her about his meeting with Loki the previous night. “You think he was jealous of Pepper?”

“Why else would he have tensed up when he heard her name?”

Natasha leaned a little closer to Tony. “This proves my theory.”

“W-What theory?” Tony tilted his head a little. “You never told me you had a  _ theory _ . Or what it is.”

“The kelpie is in love with you,” Natasha stated calmly. “He wants to make you into a kelpie, too.”

“Okay, I may agree with the first part, but the second half? No. No way. He mentioned to me that he could become  _ mortal  _ if he chose, for God’s sake.”

Natasha gave him a look. “You keep telling yourself that.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“I… I want to tell you about the time I fell in love.”

Tony looked up sharply. “You… you do?”

Loki nodded, eyes trained on the ground. “I only knew him as Grandmaster.”

“Kinky,” Tony muttered, despite himself, which earned him a hard slap on the arm from the kelpie. 

“Shut up and listen,” Loki hissed, then calmed again. “I was only about 15, back then, and he was freshly turned 16, full of hope and dreams. I guess that was what drew me to reveal myself to him in the first place. 

“Like you, he decided to stay and be my friend. It was only fate that I eventually fell for him. He fell for me, too. Eventually I started… thinking about becoming mortal.

“But I was naive, and forgot about something… important. That cost Grandmaster his life.”

Tony’s eyes had widened throughout the length of Loki’s story. “Jesus Christ, Lokes.”

Loki’s gaze lifted to meet Tony’s. “Which leads me to tell you; do  _ not  _ come to visit me tomorrow night. If you do… you’ll share his fate.”

Tony stared. “Okay. Okay, I won’t.”

The tension on Loki’s features eased slightly. “Good. Good.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“He… he told me not to visit him this evening,” Tony said slowly to Rhodey. “He said if I do… I could die.”

Rhodey frowned. “And you’re  _ sure  _ you trust him?”

“With my life.”

“But he won’t tell you  _ what  _ this danger is?”

“I think he’s too scared to, or he physically can’t.”

Rhodey hummed in response. “You got any theories of what it is?”

Tony shook his head. “No. But I’m going to find out.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

It was a stupid idea, really. He could very well be risking his own life, but as the saying goes, “curiosity killed the cat”. So Tony found himself by the lakeshore, hiding in the nearby bushes, eyes trained on the lake.

In the centre of it stood Loki, alone. He looked anxious, as if he were waiting for something. For a long time, everything was still.

Then the water grew choppy, far choppier than Tony had ever seen it when Loki emerged or changed forms. Loki took a half step back in the centre of the lake, looking startled.

Then something burst from the water; a horse, far larger than Loki’s horse form had been. It was sleeker, too, and paler, a golden-creamy colour. It’s eyes were a startling, electric blue, and it seemed to radiate power.

It whipped its head around almost angrily, then its gaze locked on Loki and it seemed to calm. It shrunk, morphing and twisting until it was gone. In its place stood a muscular, tall man with long golden hair, which was entangled with mud and weeds.

“Brother Loki!” The creature’s voice was rough as he surged forwards to pull Loki into a tight hug.

“Thor,” Loki responded unenthusiastically. Tony wanted to leave, to run and leave them be. Instead, he had to slowly creep away, to avoid detection. He was pretty sure he knew why Loki didn’t want him here this very night, but he was going to enlist Natasha’s help to check his theory.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“A cousin to the kelpies?”

“An Each-uisge, to be exact,” Tony responded.

“Jesus,” Natasha muttered, resting her head in her hands. “They’re nasty, Tony. Worse than kelpies.”

“I know,” Tony said, voice grim. “And this one called Loki his brother.”

“You think this… Thor murdered Loki’s friend?”

Tony winced. “I don’t know. I hope not.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“Lokes?”

The lake stayed fairly still, but rippled slightly, as if Loki were responding.

“I uh… I might have come to the lake last night.”

Instantly the water surged, and Loki emerged from the water, looking both furious and concerned.

“You idiot! You could have been  _ killed _ !”

“Hey, hey, easy,” Tony said softly, raising his hands. “I didn’t stick around long.”

Loki didn’t look anymore relaxed by this. “How long did you stay?”

“Only long enough to see that Each-uisge who you called Thor arrive.”

The tension Loki held in his body seemed to leave him at this. “You didn’t see Odin?”

Tony shook his head. “Like I said, I left after Thor arrived. Why?”

Loki took a step closer to Tony, and reached up to cup his cheek. It was only then that Tony realised Loki was shaking.

“Odin is my father,” Loki said unsteadily. “He’s the one who killed Grandmaster. I’m certain he wouldn’t hesitate to kill you, too. He… has a grudge against mortals.”

“I’m sorry for not trusting you on this,” Tony murmured quietly. “I risked my own life and it was stupid of me.”

Loki laughed shakily. “You’re okay. That’s what matters.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered as Loki’s head dropped to rest against Tony’s chest. “I’m sorry.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“It was his father, Pep. His father killed the mortal he fell in love with.” 

“Christ,” Pepper muttered, taking off her apron and clocking out for the night. “He’s been through a lot.”

“I know.” Tony paused. “I’m hoping I can convince him to become mortal.”

“Why?” Then Pepper’s eyes widened. “Oh, you want to be with him, don’t you?”

“No! Well, I mean, yeah. But I also think that he could escape his father if he… wasn’t a kelpie anymore, you know?” Tony sighed. “But I’m not sure he’d see it that way.”

Pepper shrugged. “Kelpies are like, immortal, right? He’d be giving up a lot more than family and his lake to become mortal.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. I’m just hoping he might be willing to do it; for me. He was willing to for… the guy he fell in love with.”

Pepper patted Tony on the back patronisingly. “It’ll work out in the end.”

Tony snorted, pushing her hand off. “Thanks,  _ Mom. _ ”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“I want you to become mortal.”

“Pardon, Stark?” Loki’s forehead had creased a little at this, and Tony backtracked a little.

“Not like… I just think… it could help  _ you _ , you know? You’d finally be able to get away from Odin.”

Loki flinched a little at his father’s name. “He may be terrible, but I have to think of my brother.”

“From the way you acted the other night, I didn’t think you liked him much,” Tony commented with surprise. Loki shook his head.

“He’s bearable,” Loki replied. “And he adores the bi-monthly visits he and father get with me. If mother had her way, father wouldn’t be allowed near me at all.”

“What is this, the kelpie legal system?” Tony joked, and Loki let out a small laugh.

“Our equivalent.”

This time, Tony laughed. “Kelpies having a court system. Who would’ve thought it?”

Loki shook his head. “Don’t sound so surprised, Stark.”

“I’ll be as surprised as I like. A little over two months ago, I didn’t even really believed kelpies existed.”

“And now?” There was humour in Loki’s tone.

_ Now I’m in love with one _ , were the words Tony wished he could say, but he didn’t dare let himself. Instead, he said, “Now I’ve got one as one of my closest friends and he’s telling me about the kelpie legal system.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“They have a  _ legal system _ ?” Clint could barely contain his laughter, and Tony just rolled his eyes fondly. 

“According to Loki they do.”

“I’d pay good money to see a court battle between kelpies,” Clint said, taking a bite of food that seemed to have materialised out of nowhere. With how much Clint ate, Tony was surprised he was still so fit.

“Can you imagine anything to do with real estate? I wonder how much it costs for a kelpie to rent a lake?”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“Do you trust me, Stark?”

The question was so out of the blue that Tony did a double-take. “What is this, Aladdin?”

Loki either didn’t appreciate the joke, or didn’t understand it. He simply frowned, his brow creasing.

“It’s a simple question.”

“I was making a joke,” Tony said, getting to his feet and feeling his shoes sink into the soft earth of the lakeshore. “But yes, Lokes, I trust you.”

“Alright. When I shift, you’re going to get on my back.”

“Isn’t that how you drown people?” Tony asked, not sounding as wary as he probably should have.

“Relax, Stark, I’m not going to drown you.”

“You’re certain of that?” 

“Yes, Stark,” Loki said with a sigh. “I’m not going to drown you.”

“I’m trusting you with my life, Lokes; literally.”

Loki just snorted, then the water surged, covering him. When it died back down, Loki was in his horse form, coat shining and eyes alight with mischief. The horse flicked his head, in a gesture that clearly meant for Tony to get on his back.

Tony let out a laugh. The gesture was so like Loki, full of impatience and demand. Tony took a few steps into the water, then, after a couple of failed attempts, swung himself up onto Loki’s back.

Almost instantly he felt the sticky hide of the kelpie capture him fast; despite knowing that this was  _ Loki _ , he still felt a little nervous. This was how kelpies killed, for crying out loud, and though Loki had promised to return him in one piece, he still felt the prick of fear at his heart.

“Don’t you dare drown me, Lokes,” Tony said warningly, and the horse let out a whinny in response, which Tony took to be a laugh. Then, without any warning, Loki dove under the water, taking Tony with him.

For a moment, Tony’s heart seemed to leap from his throat. Then his eyes seemed to take in the small structures in the lake around him; caves with rocks carved roughly into furniture, little underwater lanterns that shone dimly. This was Loki’s  _ home _ , and it was beautiful.

It felt like hours that they were under the lake’s surface, but in reality it was only a short few seconds before Loki swam up to the top, letting Tony breathe for a few moments before diving under again. In this way, Loki slowly showed Tony around his home; there were no words, but none were needed.

When they finally returned to shore, Tony found the sticky hide of the kelpie disappeared, allowing him to slide off. Once Tony was clear of the lake, the water surged and returned Loki to his human form.

“Your home is beautiful, Lokes,” Tony said after a moment breaking the silence. The kelpie smiled at Tony.

“I’m glad you thought so, Stark.”

Tony then looked down at his clothes, soaked from the lake. “Only one problem; how am I meant to explain this?”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“You’re not seriously asking me to believe you had hot sex with a kelpie.”

“When you put it like that, it does sound a little far-fetched,” Tony admitted as he pulled on a dry shirt. Pepper just shook her head.

“You always were a bad liar. What really happened?”

“He showed me his home, Pep,” Tony said slowly, meeting her gaze. “And it’s beautiful. I can understand why he’s hesitant to become mortal, just from that.”

“So you swam alongside him?” Pepper questioned, and Tony shook his head.

“He went into horse form and I rode on his back.”

“And he didn’t fucking drown you?”

“No, Pep, he  _ did  _ drown me and rip me apart and devour me at the bottom of his lake,” Tony deadpanned. “That’s why I’m here talking to you right now.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, Stark.”

“What did I say, again?” Tony asked, and Loki snorted.

“About becoming mortal,” Loki responded. “I… I think I want to.”

Tony sat up straighter than ever. “You’re serious?”

Loki nodded, opening his mouth to reply when the water rippled. His jaw shut suddenly, and he glanced at the lake with a frown.

“Please tell me that was you, Lokes.”

Loki turned his gaze to Tony. “It was not.”

“Should I-” Tony was cut off before he could say  _ hide  _ by the water surging, higher than it ever had, higher than it had for even Thor. Bursting through the fray of waves came the largest horse Tony had ever seen in his life.

It was of monstrous proportions, coloured gold and black, with a narrow, mean looking eye. The other was missing, looking as if it had been torn clean from its socket; Tony was willing to put money on it being caused by some human desperate to get away.

Then the horse’s eye fell on Tony, and everything seemed to freeze. The horse’s monstrous lips parted, revealing the sharpest teeth Tony had ever seen.

“ _ You _ .”

The horse’s voice was booming, deafening, and Tony had no doubt this was the Each-uisge Loki had spoken of; his father, Odin. The killer of Grandmaster, and quite possibly the most dangerous being Tony would ever come across.

That was when Loki stepped between his father and Tony; it was a weak attempt to barricade him, since Loki was tiny in comparison to Odin, but Tony felt touched by it regardless.

“Do not  _ dare  _ lay a hand on him, Odin,” Loki hissed, and Odin’s eye narrowed further.

“You are to address me as  _ father  _ or  _ sir  _ and nothing else,” Odin snarled, gaze flicking between Tony and Loki. “And this  _ mortal  _ is not worthy of your protection. He is worthy of nothing apart from being eaten!”

“What do you have against us mortals?” Tony called out despite how fast his heart was beating, how fearful he felt. “We’ve done nothing wrong!”

Odin’s one-eyed stare fell on Tony, burning with hatred. “A mortal took my daughter from me, and another nearly took my son. You are all selfish, horrid creatures who deserve to be drowned and ripped limb from limb!”

Tony stared for a moment, then composed himself. “You can’t control your children forever, Odin! One day they will make a life for themselves, and you won’t be able to stop it. The best you can do is support them!”

For a moment, Odin almost seemed to soften. Then his gaze hardened again, lips drawing back in a snarl to show off those horridly pointed teeth.

“You wish to take my son from me, like the one before you. I won’t let you!” The Each-uisge launched himself forward; as he did, the water around him surged, and he transformed before Tony’s very eyes.

He didn’t transform in the elegant way Thor had, or in the surge of waves Loki did. Instead, it was like a grotesque mismatch between the two. Odin’s skin rippled, morphing and stretching and squashing in ways that made Tony feel queasy.

The water roared around Odin, waves crashing across the giant being’s skin. His skin continued to contort, twist, as he shrunk down. Tony almost expected Odin’s skin to crack open, and for blood to come rushing out to paint the lake red.

That didn’t happen, though.

Instead, Odin became a man. He looked old, far older than Loki or Thor. A black eyepatch covered his missing eye now, and he didn’t look at all like his horse form. Then his lips drew back to reveal his teeth again; the same sharp teeth from before, teeth that could easily tear through Tony’s skin if Odin so wished.

He was still taller than Loki, too, but not by much. Tony realised the fight was suddenly much fairer; if Loki chose to stand and fight, that was. 

“Move aside, Loki.” Odin’s voice was cold, emotionless, and Tony felt himself tremble in fear. If Loki chose to step aside, Tony would be utterly defenceless. He’d be  _ dead  _ in seconds. Then Tony remembered what Loki had said, weeks ago, when Tony had asked him if he would kill. 

_ “No need to be afraid, Stark,” he said slowly. “I merely meant that if someone tried to hurt  _ you _ , I may have good reason to drown them and tear them apart.” _

“No.” Loki’s voice was firm, and it reassured Tony. Loki had been serious, with what he’d said back then. He wasn’t going to let Odin just kill him. Loki was going to  _ fight _ .

“Move aside I said!”

Loki didn’t flinch, staring Odin down. Tony slowly began to inch backwards; if he was able to get away from the lake, perhaps Odin would  _ stop. _ Then Odin’s arm extended beyond what should be humanely possible, and a hand clamped down hard on Tony’s foot, stopping him in his tracks.

“Loki!” Tony’s voice was filled with panic as Odin began to drag him towards the shoreline. Loki’s head whipped around to look at Tony for a moment before he leapt at Odin, the lake surging to propel him forward.

Odin released Tony as Loki slammed into him; Tony backed up, but didn’t dare leave. He couldn’t stand not knowing if Loki would survive this or not.

The kelpie Tony had fallen for over the past couple of months may have been small, but he was a whirlwind of fury. He was flying at Odin, manoeuvring his way around the lake in a way Odin simply couldn’t. This was Loki’s  _ home  _ and he knew it far better than anyone else.

One moment, he was charging Odin from the front; the next, he’d dove under the water and was sinking his clawed hands- since when did Loki have  _ clawed  _ hands?- into Odin’s back, making the larger beast shriek in pain.

He was moving so fast Tony almost couldn’t keep track of him, moving faster than a fish through the water and with enough rage to fuel the world for centuries. Then, finally, Odin seemed to have had enough.

The larger being’s hands slammed into the lake’s surface, and a massive wave knocked Loki backwards. Tony could see the kelpie struggle to get back up, obviously disoriented.

Odin took his chance, raising an arm. Tony noted the wicked serrated claws on the ends of Odin’s fingers before they were buried deep in his stomach. He heard someone cry out, an unearthly, ungodly screech;  _ Loki _ , his mind supplied before darkness swallowed him.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

The noise echoed in Tony’s head, insistent and unrelenting. He shuffled a little, frowning, squeezing his eyes shut tighter.

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

The noise just seemed to grow louder with each passing second. Tony’s brow creased as he fought to ignore it. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer; he opened his eyes, fully ready to smash whatever machine was making the noise to bits.

Instead, his eyes fell upon the harshest of whites, in the brightest of rooms. A hospital. Tony fucking Stark was in a hospital.

He groaned, pain seeming to hit him all at once. He sat up slowly, wincing when pain spammed in his stomach.

“Fuck,” he muttered quietly to himself, and froze as he heard a familiar chuckle from beside him. He turned his head, slowly, cautiously, as if turning it too quickly would make the person beside him disappear.

His resolve broke as he caught a glimpse of silky, black hair. He turned fully, eyes falling on Loki. Loki, who no longer had weeds in his hair. Loki, who seemed to be wearing  _ normal, civilian  _ clothes.

“Loki?” Tony’s voice was almost a whisper, and close to breaking; he didn’t dare try to raise it to a louder volume, for fear that he would simply start crying.

The kelpie-not-kelpie beside him smiled. “Welcome back to the world, Stark.”

Tony broke into a grin at this, then gasped. “You’re not in the lake!”

Loki inclined his head slightly. “I did tell you I wanted to become mortal.”

“You’re… mortal now Lokes?” Tony felt dizzy with the new information, and he felt Loki take his hand.

“Yes,” Loki replied simply. “And Odin won’t bother me, or you, again.”

“But… what about your home?”

Loki just smiled again. “I came to realise any home without you wasn’t really home at all.”

The breath seemed to be knocked from Tony’s lungs. He didn’t know what to say, or how to react. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“Well, there’s a spare room in my apartment,” Tony managed. “Once I get out of this goddamn hospital we can go shopping. Help you make it your own.”

Loki’s small smile widened at this. “That sounds great, Stark. And I’d certainly like to get to know your friends better.”

Tony nodded. “I’m sure they’re dying to learn more about you too, Lokes. And so am I.”

Loki looked a little taken aback. “Stark?”

“Once I’m out of this hospital, how does a date sound?”

Loki smiled again, his free hand coming up to cup Tony’s cheek. “I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my longest, non multi-chaptered fic to date! I had a blast writing this over the past five to six days, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it!


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